Frame construction for storm and screen doors



A. ZITOMER June 25, 1968 FRAME CONSTRUCTION FOR STORM AND SCREEN DOORSFiled Dec. 29, 1966 INVENTOR. ABE ZITOMER BY W,W

ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,389,505 Patented June 25, 19683,389,505 FRAME CONSTRUCTION FOR STORM AND SCREEN DOORS Abe Zitomer,Detroit, Mich., assignor to Feather-Lite Manufacturing Co., Division ofNational Brands, Inc., Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan FiledDec. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 605,886 7 Claims. (Cl. 49-463) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A door having a storm window or screen insert, trim panelssecured to the door frame around the opening for the insert and carryinga seal engaged by the insert, and means for removably securing theinsert to the door in engagement with the seal.

The invention relates to a storm or screen door having a storm window orscreen insert removably mounted in an opening in the door and trimpanels secured to the door frame around the opening therein to provide adesired decorative appearance to the door. The trim panels shield theedge of the storm or screen insert and also the joint between the insertand the door from view so that only the glass or screen material isexposed from the outer side of the door. The trim panels carry a sealwhich is engaged by the storm or screen insert, and retaining clips areinserted between the door frame and the insert to hold the latteragainst the seal. The trim panels are separate from the 'door frame andare frictionally secured to the door frame members when the doors isbeing assembled so that trim panels of a desired ornamental appearancemay be used by the door manufacturer. After assembly of the door thetrim panels become a permanent part of the assembly.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a new and improved frameconstruction for storm and screen doors.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved decorativetrim panel construction for storm and screen type doors.

A further object of the invention is to provide a storm or screen doorhaving separate trim panels which may be easily attached to the stormdoor thereby permitting any of a variety of panel designs to be used.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a storm doorconstruction having a novel trim panel which carries a seal and forms anintegral part of the joint between the insert and the door frame.

The foregoing as well as other objects will become more apparent as thisdescription proceeds, especially when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawing illustrating the invention, wherein:

FIGURE 1 illustrates the outer side of a storm and screen door accordingto the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a mounting clip as shown in FIGURES 2and 3;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a modified mounting clip; and

FIGURE 6 is a partial sectional view showing the use of the mountingclip shown in FIGURE 5.

A door 10 according to the invention includes side stiles or framemembers 12 and 14 which are connected together by cross frame members16, 18 and 20 to form a rigid door frame. As indicated in the drawing,the frame members are preferably formed from hollow aluminum extrusions.Frame members 12, 14, 16 and 18 define an opening 22 for the receptionof a storm window or screen insert 38. A metal kick panel 24 is providedin the opening defined by frame members 12, 14, 18 and 20 and locatedbelow the insert opening 22. A channel shaped member 26 may betelescopically fitted over the frame member 20'.

Trim panel members 28 are secured to the door frame at the edge of theopening 22 and project into the opening as shown in FIGURE 1 to form adecorative trim panel surrounding the opening. The trim panel design isintended to complement the design of the kick panel 24 so that by theuse of suitable trim panels and kick panels design the door 10 may begiven an overall appearance compatible with a given style ofarchitecture.

The frame members 12, 14, 16 and 18 are each pro vided with an inwardlyextending tongue 30 which define the opening 22 and an inwardly facinggroove 32 located outwardly of the tongue 30. Each .panel member 28 isprovided along its outer edge with a tongue 34 having a laterally turnedend 35 and an outwardly facing groove 36. The panel members 28 arefrictionally secured to the door frame member by inserting the tongue 34into groove 32 as tongue 30 is received within groove 36. The doubletongue and groove joints just described provide a tight frictionalmounting of the panel members on the door frame members. After the framemembers are secured together to complete the door, the trim panelsbecome a permanent part of the door.

Door insert 38 is fitted within opening 22 and includes a glass orscreen pane 40 with a mounting frame 42 secured to the edges thereof. Asuitable sealing gasket 44 is mounted in grooves 46 on the innersurfaces of the trim panels 28 and extends completely around the opening22. Frame members 12, 16 and 14 are provided with grooves 48 throughouttheir lengths. A ledge 50 is provided on frame member 18 so that thedoor insert 38 may be secured to the door frame by placing the bottomedge of the insert frame 42 on ledge 50 and then pivoting the inserttoward the door so that the frame thereof is brought into engagementagainst the sealing gasket 44. The insert is secured in the door frameby means of a number of plastic clips 52 of the kind shown in FIG- URE4. The clips 52. include a tapered wedge portion 54, a flat portion 56,and an outwardly projecting rib 58. A suitable number of the clips 52are spaced around the opening 22 and are applied by forcing the taperedportions 54 into the grooves 48 so that the portions 56 are seatedagainst the frame 42 and hold the insert in tight engagement against thesealing gasket 44. The portions '54 of clips 52 may be provided withtransverse serrations so that upon insertion of the portions 54 intogrooves 48 the serrations 60 engage similar serrations formed on theinside of the grooves 48 thereby positively securing the clips to thedoor frame. The rib 58 facilitates manual insertion and removal of theclip. It will be apparent that the clips 52 are easily removed from thedoor frame so that a storm window insert 38 is easily removed from thedoor to permit the installation of a screen insert as desired.

The mounting of the door insert 38 in the door frame by means of clips52 as described results in the insert 38 being forced against the gasket44 which in turn holds the trim panels 28 against their respective framemembers.

FIGURES 5 and 6 disclose a modified retaining clip 62 having a T-shapedcross section provided with a serrated wedge portion 64 and a head 66which is longer on one side of the portion 64 than on the other side ofportion 64. The clip 62 is also provided with an elongate slot 70adjacent the head 66 whereby it is possible to insert a tool,conventionally a screw driver, into the slot 70 to facilitate insertionand removal of the clip from the door.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view showing the clip 62 when attached to thedoor. The wedge portion 64 is serrated on both sides so that the clipmay be inserted with either the longer or shorter head portion inengagement with the insert 38 whereby the clip 62 may be used with stormor screen inserts of different thicknesses.

Since the trim members provided by this invention are separate from theframe members of the door but are easily secured to their respectiveframe members by merely forcing the trim member toward the frame memberin the plane of the door, it is possible for the door manufacturer tocarry a variety of trim members of different ornamental appearance tosupply his customers with doors of any selected ornamental designwithout any change in the basic door structure. Due to the miteredconstruction of the corners of the trim members they become a permanentpart of the door when the door is assembled and cannot be disengagedfrom their frame members.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a door construction including a plurality of door frame memberssecured together to define a door having an opening therein for thereception of a storm window or screen insert, the improvement comprisinga plurality of trim members each secured to one of said frame membersand extending inwardly therefrom into said opening to form a trim paneloverlying the peripheral edges of said insert on one side thereof, saidtrim members and said frame members having mating tongue and groovemeans thereon for frictionally securing each of said trim members to itsframe member, continuous sealing means carried by said trim members forengagement with one side of said insert to form a seal between the framemembers and said insert, and removable retaining means engageablebetween the other side of said insert and said frame members to holdsaid insert in said opening and against said sealing means.

2. A door construction as in claim 1 wherein said tongue and groovemeans comprises an inwardly facing tongue and groove on each framemember and an outwardly facing groove and tongue on each trim member,whereby said trim members are secured to their frame members by relativemovement toward each other in the plane of the door.

3. A door construction as in claim 2 wherein said sealing means ispositioned on said trim members between the tongue and groove thereon.

4. A door construction as in claim '2 wherein said retaining meansincludes a plurality of wedge-shaped clips remova-bly insertable betweensaid insert and said frame members at spaced intervals around saidopening.

5. A door construction as in claim 4 including a groove formed incertain of said frame members outwardly of the opening in the door, saidclips being frictionally engaged within such grooves.

6. A door construction as in claim 5 wherein an elongate tool receivinghole is provided through the body of each clip to permit an insertion ofa tool therein to facilitate removal of the clip from its groove.

7. Door construction as in claim 6 wherein said clips are T-shaped incross section with the sides of the head of the T of dilferent lengthsto accommodate inserts of different thicknesses.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,063,120 12/1936 Plym 52499 X2,837,784 6/1958 Jannette 49-463 X 2,883,716 4/1959 Kunkel 494633,063,524 11/1962 Kessler 49463 X 3,137,901 6/1964 Malachowski et a1.49-463 X 3,177,924 4/1965 McPhail 16091 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, PrimaryExaminer.

P. C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner.

